Cajita
by cherryvvoid
Summary: Spanish for "small box", a term she had taken to calling the giant cage in her stomach because nothing pissed Kurama off more than saying that the almighty Kyuubi no Yuko lived in a four dimensional piece of cardboard. Uzumaki Kushina wasn't exactly Uzumaki Kushina but that was okay, she was doing just fine in her place. SI-OC!Kushina.
1. Jinchuuriki's Body

She had been born on the tenth of July. It had been a long birth full of painful contractions, growls of pain, and worried immediate family. She was even called Shizo, if only for a small amount of time before another more hefty name was bestowed upon her like a crown of thrones.

Now usually this wouldn't be a problem, she actually found the name - both of them - rather cute. It wasn't exactly _bizarre_ that there had been a change of choice in matter of what her official title would be, because parents made snap decisions like that _all the_ _time_. Mom's and dad's, no matter who they were, named and then renamed their children in all sorts of situations.

See, the issue was comprised of so many layers and so many levels that it was hard to express _why_ it was so wrong.

It wasn't her _parents_ that bugged her, in fact, she already liked them. They seemed fun and kind and well, that was rare for her. It was the alarming fact that these people _weren't her first set of parents_!

And yes, she said that correctly and she meant _exactly_ what she said. Completely different people from before and that thought _disturbed_ her to no end.

Ironically enough, the very first thing she noticed when she had been born was _red_.

Bright burning _red_ just..._floating there_. And it wasn't that awkward ginger color that paled or brightened depending on the light exposure. It was _hemoglobin red,_ the color of fresh-from-the-vein _blood_. It clouded her vision, and she was equally fascinated and rubbed the wrong way by its vibrancy because a color like that just wasn't _natural_. So like any fuzzy minded, slightly dazzled person would do, she reached out and grabbed hold of it.

Now the issue here wasn't her figuring out it was hair. No no no, it was her catching sight of the hand clutching said hair.

_Her_ hand.

_Her_ now _smaller_ hand

_Her_ now _miniature_ hand.

_**Her now infant hand.**_

For a moment all she could do was stare with a blank mind until common sense caught up, told her to panic and she _screamed_.

Loudly might she add.

Her ringing cry wasn't how she remembered it, not with it being high pitched enough to shatter glass, and it was beginning to make her head hurt.

A hiccup caught in her throat at the feeling of a finger curving around her cheek, and she could feel her tantrum shrink into a frantic whine.

Opening eyes she didn't realized were closed, she was met with her blurry surroundings and immediately curled up within herself.

The last thing she remembered was bright flashing lights and pain. She had been shot, that much she was sure of. Some radical idiot had brilliant idea to rob the bank she had on a whim decided to visit. She could have - should have - gone to her own but she had been hard pressed for time.

But shit, if she had known she would have been fucking _murdered_ she wouldn't have bothered filing for her student visa that day.

A long story short, the guy didn't have a plan, she got chosen as the hostage probably because she was the only ash haired, half gaijin in the middle of Japan, and got shot in the process.

It was just her luck that the one time someone approached her without the intention of being a racist or a purist bigot, was when she was going to _die_.

Still, none of that explained her current predicament.

Had she suddenly regressed to an infant or been sent back in time? But if either of those were the case, then the woman holding her wouldn't be a redhead, she would be a _brunette_. So that left her with another plausible yet seemingly impossible option. One she didn't want to consider but honestly had no choice.

_Rebirth_.

Thank whoever she had a rather loose definition of religion and thought anything after death was a possibility, or she would have just died a second time from _shock_. Although don't get her wrong, she was still flipping her lid at all of this because come on! It just wasn't done!

"Look at her Mizo, a beautiful baby girl just for us." A soft sounding female voice cooed, dragging her from her slightly dismal thoughts.

"Just like you Hisagi-sama." Another female voice piped up and a few others hummed in agreement.

"Do you want to hold her Mizo?" The woman, Hisagi, her new mom - a very awkward thought for her to think - asked even as she already pressed her smaller body into another person's arms.

Turning her head, she locked onto a hovering tanned face with red hair and indistinguishable features that were painstakingly buzzing into view.

"She seems very attentive." Mizo hummed as he rose to a stand.

"_Of course_ our little Shizo is smart! After all, she is _my_ child!" Hisagi exclaimed, as the new infant was left to wonder why she now had a Japanese name? They looked to be European, unless they were mixed like she had previously been - and wow that felt strange to say!

"So she's not mine anymore?" Mizo raised an eyebrow in question and Hisagi puffed up her cheeks.

"Not if you're gonna _doubt_ her!"

"Now, now little Shizo-sama has two parents," The other female voice placated. "and you two fill those roles quite nicely."

"Shizo?" The man asked in a distasteful tone, obviously registering the name used to address her for the first time. "Really? You wanted to name her that crazy old bat?

"What? I kind of like the sound of it. Uzumaki Shizo. It's catchy." Hisagi pouted but she wasn't paying attention anymore more focused on the red bundle in the man's arms. "and don't you call my obaa that!"

Almost immediately, she had zoned out. Her mind was set on two things, two extremely obvious and foreboding things that were in dire need of addressing.

I.e: the surname to this family she was now apart of - whether she liked it or not - and the silver plated piece of metal that was fashioned onto cloth and wrapped around Mizo's forehead.

All at once everything inside of her protested. She recognized both of them, hell every manga fan worth their _salt_ knew at least that much

A hitae-ate with a familiar swirl and the name of a clan that by all means shouldn't exist.

She would have been a little relieved after having fully identified something familiar but there were a few problems.

Now, if the fact that she had somehow been reborn in the fictional world of Naruto didn't scare her - and it did - then the fact that her last name was the oh so very familiar _Uzumaki_ did it in for her.

She had been reborn in Uzushiogakure where she wasn't guaranteed any survival. A place she knew next to nothing about besides the fact that everyone there had been _wiped out._

_She was screwed._

"Are we really naming her Shizo?" Her new father asked, tone skeptical.

"Well it was either that or my other choice." Hisagi shrugged, and reluctantly a little foreboding feeling cropped up inside of her.

"But I wasn't so sure about that one considering in the tale I was told as a child all the women with that name were terribly strong but died unbearably young," The woman hummed. "It's too bad really, Kushina is a lovely name."

And to be honest, after hearing what she had heard, she had blacked out, her miniature chakra signature pitched so wildly that she had alarmed the people in the room with her. But regardless of whatever concerns Hisagi had about that name, from the moment she woke up that was her new name and her fate was sealed.

Harazakue Naomi replaced Uzumaki Kushina and that had been that.

* * *

Even though she had the mind of a nineteen year old Japanese linguist teacher in this small body of hers, it didn't change the fact that she was a baby and she needed sleep to grow.

Though, when she was awake she made sure to pay the utmost attention to her surroundings.

After a grueling and exhausting year of denying any and everything, she had come to terms with her situation. If it wasn't the inhuman way her parents used the patented Naruto-verse jutsu, the authentic Jounin vests and weaponry around the house, or the blatant Uzumaki traits that confirmed everything, then it was all the chakra she sensed.

The air around them was saturated with it but it was so spread apart that it hardly made a difference. It was like water in her eyes, if she squinted she could see right past it.

Now actual chakra in bodies was different. It was concentrated to a single organism and much more noticeable if they weren't hiding it.

Chakra in people had a feeling and it carried a personality. Her father's was warm and calm but tended to spike at the most obscene times. It was like a hug but not quite. Maybe more similar to the way she used to wrap her favorite blanket around her shoulders whenever she got too cold.

Her mother's was expressive and very volatile. It churned and pitched to its own tempo and it felt safe. It clicked with her own easily and Kushina often fell asleep to the sensation of her mother's chakra pattern.

Thus went most of her early life. Sleeping and observing what she could as she incessantly thought on her position.

Obviously, this changed some things, but what and how much remained to be seen. How much could she prevent without messing up the timeline?

Kushina found herself coming to grow fond of her new parents, how could she not with them constantly caring and watching over her?

From what she had read in the manga, canon!Kushina's clan had been killed off but she wasn't sure if it was before or after she had been sent to Konoha with Mito.

She knew the future and frankly she didn't want to die. But what could she do? Not go to Konoha? Leave the country before Mito could find her? Then what about the Kyuubi?

Even if she told the leaf she didn't want to go, she would have little to no choice. That village wouldn't just let her damn them to death because of a little thing like her _opinion_.

Only an Uzumaki could hold the nine trails within themselves, as per told by Kishimoto. And she couldn't let Mito die and Kurama free, that would probably kill her sooner than the canon events.

Then what else could she possibly do? Konoha was a big factor so she couldn't avoid going. Kushina had affected a lot in her stay, some of which that needed to be affected even _more_. She needed to learn what Mito could teach her because her family wouldn't be here forever. The only thing she could hope to do was avoid what was inside of Konoha.

Canon!Kushina becoming pregnant with Naruto had led to the seal weakening, to Obito unsealing Kurama, and eventually to her death. Which then lead to leaving a child alone to be subjected to prejudice and the harsh reality of being an orphan. So really there was only one thing to do.

_She would need to stay away from Namikaze._

She knew he was a persistent kid by what was said about him but so was she.

But doing that meant no KushiMina pairing and that meant no Naruto and without him, would the series even be able to go on? Naruto was important because he was _Kushina's _child, meaning he could hold the beast just like she could and _that's_ what made him valuable.

Maybe if need be she could find another Uzumaki to place Kurama in? But the question was who? Karin? Nagato? Some other Uzumaki child who had been lucky enough to escape?

Whoever she chose, it would insure Minato and by proxy herself, wouldn't die. At least from a Kyuubi attack and if he lived, then so much that happened wouldn't have happened.

Grimacing internally, she pushed those thoughts aside. Ultimately that was a back up plan considering she had no intentions to let Obito unseal the Kyuubi in the first place. The pregnancy was what weakened her enough that Obito could take the biju so easily, so the only solution was to not have a baby.

_Sorry Naruto, _She thought. _your mother's gonna have to be another Uzumaki._

Although if she wanted to be able to stop the wayward Uchiha then she would have to start training as soon as she could.

Kushina had been born into a clan with demonic vitality and a penchant for fuuinjutsu, she would use what she was being handed.

* * *

Her parents were a constant part of the war before she even took her first step. Although her mother was more behind the scenes considering she was a seal master and they were the ones they couldn't afford to lose. Her father, on the other hand, was a chakra powerhouse who could whip around canon!Kushina's chains like a pro so he was a front liner.

To fill up the space in between her free time, Kushina decided to get her mother to begin teaching her the different kanji. Though she could only receive instruction when her mother wasn't busy working and grafting her seals for the clan. In her previous life, she studied Chinese kanji so she had assumed it would be easier to learn scripting from her mother but that wasn't the case. Whenever she managed to catch a glimpse of the scrolls her mother wrote in, Kushina could easily see that the Japanese characters here were older and used a bit differently from the ones she was used to.

So immediately upon reaching the age of four where she could do more than reflect and look around, she had hobbled over to her mother who sat practicing her script and asked her what she was doing.

"Ah, so my little Shi-chan is interested in the family art, is she?" Hisagi smiled setting down her brush as she turned her full attention to her daughter.

"Pretty squiggles okaa-san!" Kushina beamed, playing her part as the young and impressionable child perfectly.

Her mother laughed quietly, an amused look taking residence on her face.

"These, honey, are not squiggles. They may look like them but these lines are what we call Kanji." She explained motioning her over to sit in her lap.

"And Kanji is used to make _squiggles_?" Kushina persisted, drawing out the word while leaning forward to get a better look at her mother's work.

And what work it was. Even with her budding degrees in the Chinese language she could only read few and sparse characters.

"No baby, kaa-chan uses them to write."

Deciding to dig a little more ,she posed another innocent question.

"Only to write? But mine doesn't look like yours." She hummed, flexing her tiny fingers in faux thought. It truly didn't. Whenever she practiced her writing style was vastly different since she used hiragana and katakana.

"Of course not, this writing has an unique purpose." Hisagi explained, grasping onto her extended hands.

"What is it?" Shiki inquired, tilting her head back to meet her mother's plum eyes.

"That, little Shi-chan, is not something I can tell you."

Visibly deflating, she turned around and pouted.

"But it is something I can _teach_ you." Her mother conceded after watching her sulk for a few moments more.

"Your first lesson begins now, go pick up the brush." She instructed and quickly Kushina scrambled up and slid the writing utensil into her hands before looking back at her mother for confirmation.

"Before we can start, we need to correct your writing posture. This will be your most important lesson, never forget it." Hisagi warned before she placed one hand on the small of her back, pushing lightly as she straightened the slight slouch Kushina had taken.

"Good, remember to always keep a straight spine. A confident scribe is a successful one." Her mother told her and Kushina nodded.

"Now, relax your wrist but keep it firm. You need to be able to rotate your hand which ever way." Guiding her movements into position her mother moved to sit behind her.

"Second lesson will be writing our name," Hisagi said, leaning forward so her own red tresses mingled with Kushina's. "are you ready to begin?"

"Yes okaa-san." She affirmed, ready to test her own knowledge on the characters.

Watching as her mother guided her into shaping the first symbols to her name, Hisagi stopped guiding the brush after she had their entire last name painted on a spare piece of paper.

う ず ま き

"You see this here? These symbols when separate don't mean much but when combined," Gripping her smaller hand, she wrote out them out closer together. "this comes to mean _whirlpool_ or _spiral_."

"A spiral, just like our clan symbol?"

"Yes Shi-chan, like our clan symbol."

"It looks pretty okaa-san!" Kushina grinned, running a finger over the now dry characters.

Her mother smiled softly. "Thank you Shi-chan, one day yours will be just as pretty."

"Really?" Kushina questioned, making sure to inject the right amount of wonder and skepticism.

"Yes I'm sure, you're are, after all, an Uzumaki and my child to boot." Hisagi giggled, tapping the tip of her nose.

The rest of the lesson had been spent with Kushina learning the absolute basics of their ancient but oddly advanced Japanese. By the time her father had walked through the door, Kushina was covered in black ink. Her chubby little baby fingers made handling the utensils hard.

But Kushina deigned to learn and listen, regardless of the fumbling of her less than dexterous fingers.

Her father, seeing what had been going on, was eager to join in on the teaching fest and easily they had accommodated their lessons to fit. Though her father was by no means a seals master he knew enough to give pointers.

* * *

At the halfway point of a couple of months, her parents decided it was time to explain the actual use of fuuinjutsu to let her make a single tag, though they never let her detonate it without her being under a microscope. She, unsurprisingly, got mixed up every now and then and nearly set something on fire.

Plenty of times, Kushina would catch herself on the verge of writing the kanji for something explosive in the place of something extremely similar and nonthreatening. She resolved to be more careful, lest she accidentally create a nuclear type explosive tag by accident.

The first time, upon seeing her father's chakra chains destroy flying projectiles mid-air, she knew that was a technique she had to learn.

Her father had started her with some low level chakra exercises. Like sticking blades to grass to convenient and accessible places on her body. For example, Kushina was ordered to wear shorts and t-shirts outside and to cover as much of her body with the tiny green blades. And if one fell off, she was to get rid of the leftover ones and start over.

Surprisingly the grass and leaves didn't burn out because of her character but when she inquired about it from her parents, she found out that was because the entire island was practically saturated in Uzumaki chakra. So ergo, like couldn't harm like.

With her larger than normal coils and reserves, it had tired her much more later on the road than she had anticipated it would for someone of her age. But she still got exhausted far more quickly than her parents.

In between her sessions, her parents encouraged her to go out and talk to the other children who were around but Kushina steadfastly refused. Most of the kids were years older than her or much too young, and the ones that were her age weren't on her level.

Not to mention they were all going to die.

What was the point of befriending a bunch of people who she knew was going to be murdered. Kushina was already attached to her parents she wouldn't latch onto anyone else.

Which was why whenever someone _did_ try to connect with her, she threw up her antisocial walls. She was lucky the fighting kept most busy. Their go-to personalities and sunny disposition made it really hard to resist the invitations of friendship.

About a year and some months into her training, both of her parents were called out to the front lines.

Kushina had been in the middle of a lesson when a ninja had busted in and ordered both Hisagi and Mizo Uzumaki out to the front.

Her parents were grim faced but determined, but Kushina was terrified and apprehensive.

Her mother was a sealer! They wouldn't call a fuuinjutsu master out to battle unless it was _major_.

Sitting alone in the house was practically _torture_. It was quiet and nerve-wracking. She persisted in sleeping through most of the days when they weren't there. A friend of the family was asked to watch over her and this was the only time Kushina allowed herself to receive affection from her clan.

Kushina's heart practically burst from her chest when both of her parents slunk into the house weeks later. They were scuffed and cut up but regardless they were _alive_.

For the second time in her re-life, Uzumaki Kushina cried her eyes out.

* * *

**Edit: 3/19/16**

**Beta'd by CompYES.**


	2. Fire Truck Red

Kushina had been in the middle of practicing her kanji when her parents had introduced their two friends and their child.

A child who had been instructed to go play with her.

Let it be known that Kushina didn't _want_ any company, so like any seemingly anti-social child she had promptly turned back to her work. Focusing rather determinedly on her lines and boxes, she completely ignored the little redheaded girl who had plopped herself down on the opposite side of the table and was currently staring at her with wide eyes.

"Hi!" The girl chirped loudly after a long bout of silence, the abrupt sound causing Kushina to create a jagged line on her paper. Staring vacantly at the stray mark Kushina looked at all the script work it had ruined and she suppressed a twitch.

She was older than her, she could handle this and not blow a fuse.

Refusing to look up Kushina resumed her kanji but this time on a separate sheet of paper. She could say she wasn't bitter about having to start over but then she would be lying and that wasn't healthy.

"My name is Michiko what's yours?" The girl asked, voice cheerful and curious and Kushina twitched again. It was obvious Michiko was oblivious to Kushina's internally struggle not to write the seal for ' quiet ' on her forehead as witnessed by her persistent staring. But the future jinchuuriki resolved to control her urges, she would stay solid.

Kushina dutifully kept her head down and her brush inked. She would not give in and talk to her. _She would not give in and talk to her._

_But sadly_, Kushina thought with a clench of her teeth, _that wasn't a sentiment shared by dear little Michiko_.

"My parents told me that you're named Kushina and I should call you Kushina-hime since you're the daughter of the new head of the clan." Michiko rambled. "But maybe when you and I become good friends I can call you Kushina-chan or Shina-chan!"

Suddenly the girl's eyes widened and she gave a squeal.

"Maybe I can call you just plain old Kushina!" She gushed happily. "And you could call me plain old Michiko!"

And like a switch had been thrown the girl started to drone on and on about their _supposed _friendship _continuously_. _Rapidly_. And without taking _breath_.

Her brush snapped to pieces in her hand.

Gritting her teeth, Kushina had decided she had enough, screw ignoring her and the headache she was causing! The little _brat_ couldn't catch a clue if it smacked her in her flapping mouth! Throwing down her paintbrush and pushing herself out of her seat, she erupted.

"Go _away_ you stupid little girl! And _stop_ talking, you're making me mess up!" She hissed, as Michiko's face immediately crumpled, twisted, then reddened in anger. A familiar anger she saw reflected in many Uzumaki, including herself and if she were calmer she would have cursed her clan's legendary temper.

"Don't call me _stupid_ you - you-" Michiko yelled as she trailed off, fishing for an insult, "-_poopie face!_"

The other girl had practically shouted that into her face and if Kushina wasn't so in the moment and wasn't so very stressed, she would have realized that she was a legal adult in a child's body and such juvenile insults didn't faze her. She would have realized that it was idiotic to get riled up because a fellow four year old saw it fit to call her face a _bowel movement._

But she _was_ feeling the stress and she _was_ engrossed in the moment and with a screech of anger, she propelled herself over the table and tackled to other girl down. Ink and paper splattered over them and the floor.

Their fight was a tangle of hair pulling, painful scratches, and the standard biting. So it was no wonder that their screams and grunts of pain had caught the attention of the adults.

Immediately separating the two grappling girls, their parents demanded to know what had gotten into them.

"She made me mess up my writing! I spent _five whole days_ on that!" Kushina shouted pointing a stubby finger at the other, a pinched and angry frown on her round face as her chest heaved up and down.

"I didn't mean to!" Michiko cried before flinging a hand at the simmering red head. "But maybe if she wasn't such a _poopie head_-"

"_I am not!_" Kushina screeched.

"-then maybe I would feel sorry." Michiko sniffed, crossing her arms and turning her face away.

Kushina, enraged at the snub, attempted to claw her smug flippant expression from her face but was soundly held back by her parents.

"Kushina, _enough_." Her father ordered and reluctantly she settled down. Catching sight of Michiko's gloating smile, she quickly showed the girl her favorite vulgar gesture. Which both her mother and father caught.

Her parents didn't look pleased.

* * *

Sitting in the corner in a seiza position, Kushina held her hands out to the side as weights dangled from her wrists. Scowling deeply, Kushina sent a venomous look at the girl sitting in the same position on the opposite end of the room.

"This is all your fault." She grumbled, arms tired. "Now _I_ have to get punished."

Michiko huffed angrily. "I'm here too!"

"Well I wish you weren't." Kushina shot, her tone snippy at best, cutting at worst.

"I wish I weren't either! You're a _horrible_ best friend!" Michiko accused, eyes narrowed and Kushina felt taken aback.

"Since _when_ are we best friends?" She demanded, looking at the other girl like she was insane. "I punched your face! _Repeatedly_!"

"Well I hit yours too so we're even." Michiko declared, looking pleased with herself. A little too pleased for Kushina's comfort and she sought to rectify that.

"Yeah well you hit the clan _heiress_ I can have you thrown out of the clan!" Kushina taunted, eager to get one over on the other girl and her efforts were rewarded in the next second by the expression on the fellow Uzumaki's face.

Michiko whirled around, her short red hair flying about her face. "_You can't_."

Kushina grinned smugly. "_I can_."

Abruptly she stood. "I won't let you!"

Kushina scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna be the next clan head. You don't have the authority to 'let' me do anything." Now standing herself, she placed her hands on her hips and grinned. "So boom, I _win_."

Just like before Michiko's face grew dark and her frame shook.

"You better not do it or I'll-I'll...I'LL TELL YOUR PARENTS!" She shouted and Kushina snorted.

"My parents can't do _shit_ about me kicking you out of the clan! " Kushina scoffed as she cocked her hip. "So sit down and shut the _hell_ up and maybe I'll exile you with some _friends_ so you won't have to be _alone_ in your _disgrace_!"

Michiko looked like someone had painted her entire face red and Kushina was enjoying it _immensely_.

"Then - then I'll - I'll-" Michiko stuttered as her hands clenched and her stomped. "_I'll tell your parents that you said bad words!_"

And here Kushina drew up short and Michiko had obviously caught her brief look of fear because suddenly the girl looked like the cat who got the cream.

"Oh, I'm gonna _tell_ on you." She taunted, face still red from her anger.

"I didn't even _do_ anything." Kushina growled in a lie. "_You can't!_"

"_I can_." Michiko said, throwing her earlier words back at her and damn if that didn't piss Kushina off.

The moment her tiny fingers touched the handle to the door, Kushina jetted forward and shoved the girl to the ground. Taking out her make shift fuuinjutsu pouch, she quickly scribbled the kanji for 'lock' onto the door and clumsily pushed her chakra into it.

Ugh her chakra control was steadily getting worse as her reserves grew. She'd need more practice.

Michiko jumped to her feet with a furious look on her face. "Let me go."

"_No_!"

"Let me go so I can _tell_ on you!" She howled, face drawn tight.

"Well when you put it that way," Kushina mused as she tapped her chin for a second before glaring into blue eyes. "it's still _no_!"

Michiko twitched. "If you won't let me go, then I'll just leave _myself_."

This time it was Kushina's turn to give a smug smirk.

"Go head." She offered, sweeping one head before her imperiously.

The other girl shot her a suspicious look before cautiously moving forward. But as she tried to tug it open, it held shut.

"What in the-" Now rapidly trying to rip the sliding door open, she jumped back with a yelp as she blew harshly on her palm.

"It _shocked_ me!" She gasped, surprised before inspecting her startlingly red hand. _Ouch_.

"It _uh_, wasn't supposed to do that." Kushina coughed, feeling a bit guilty. "Sorry."

Michiko turned to face her with a thunderous expression on her face.

"_What did you do?_"

She shrugged. "Keep you from telling on me?"

"I'm gonna scream."

Kushina tensed minutely.

"_Don't_." If her parents found out she used a seal for something like this they'll take away her kit.

"I'm gonna do it." Michiko threatened and Kushina paled.

"_Please_?"

"I'm doing it."

And god did she do it. It was like a kunai to the ear. Cursing under her breath, Kushina slammed her hand down over Michiko's mouth and on instinct offered her a deal she hoped she would take.

"_If you shut up I'll be your friend!_"

Almost instantly, Michiko quieted down before turning a skeptical look towards her.

"BFF's?" Came the muffled question and Kushina _knew_ she would regret this. She just knew it.

"_BFF's_"

Michiko squealed and with a surprising amount of strength she broke out of Kushina's grip and hugged her till her rib cage creaked.

"Yay! I knew you'd be my bestie! All the other kids will be so jealous that you like me and not them!" She squealed and Kushina sighed in exhaustion.

"_Sooo_ jealous." Kushina drawled, allowing the contact to prolong as long as she didn't alert her parents-

"Girls what's going on?" She heard her mother ask. "Wait a second - is that a _seal_ on this door?"

Kushina gulped and turned an accusing glare onto the sheepish looking Michiko.

"Some BFF you are." She muttered turning terrified eyes toward the now open entrance and disapproving parents.

"I can explain?" Yep, she was so screwed.

* * *

**Edit: 3/20/16**

**What do you think of Michiko?**

**Beta'd by CompYES.**


	3. Common Literacy

Kushina's mother was going to test her knowledge in kanji and the young redhead was quite eager to begin.

The setup was similar to many kindergarten games she played as a child. On the side of the cards facing up there was a kanji symbol and on the side facing down, there was the meaning. The task was easy, pick the right translation and her punishment was officially over with but if she got any wrong, it would continue.

Which meant if she won, she could finally advance beyond her simple training regime quite like _Michiko_ was already doing. Kushina had the sneaking suspicion that her 'BFF' didn't get a punishment as harsh as hers. In fact the girl had come to _visit_ her once to see if she was free to _play_.

Kushina was _done_ with not being able to script seals, she had gone an entire year learning only theory and practical lessons in kanji. She wanted more and she wanted it _now_.

Determined to win her freedom once and for all, she nodded to her mother who sat off to the side of the table perched on some cushions.

"I'm ready kaa-chan." Kushina said, straightening her spine into a titanium column.

Her mother inclined her head to her and turned to Kushina's new tutor, Jan, who she had hired to teach her in their stead. Her parents had gotten progressively more busy over the few months so they had little time to indulge her.

Facing forward she looked over the first card that was set before her and grinned because she knew the answer.

日

"Sun." Kushina said and when she was rewarded with a 'correct' she had to resist the urge to fist pump and instead settled with a clenched fist.

力

"Power."

自

"Oneself."

合

"Er-putting togeth- NO! Combining! To combine!" She corrected, realizing how close she was to messing up and blowing her chances. Oh, her mother almost got her, that sly devil. Fiddling with her yukata hem, she let out an even breath and moved onto the next one.

人

Now this one was tricky. This kanji had a near look-alike double that meant something different. Steeling herself she stared long and hard at the slip of paper before hesitantly giving her answer.

"Person?"

"Correct."

入

Ah, this was the clone kanji she had almost confused the previous one with. Since there was no other similar option she was confident.

"Enter."

"Correct."

Kushina grinned, happy at her success. Thank Kami she had an eye for detail. A part of her had been angry for having studied _both_ Chinese and Japanese literature and knowing little about the characters used in the sealing arts until she realized something very _important_. In her old world, she didn't need to learn these outdated and irrelevant letters.

In her old world, no one but kanji specialists knew these because back in Japan it was _unnecessary_. People didn't use them in books, signs, or media so she hadn't needed them to pass her classes. But here she _had_ to learn the older kanji. Maybe one day she could combine her more modern knowledge to her fuuinjutsu scripts and make something entirely new. Wouldn't _that_ be a challenge?

Leaning closer to the table she looked at the next card and blanched. There were two cards on the table this time. Facing down.

Looking up at Jan in confusion, Kushina scrunched her nose.

"Choose which character means what."

Reaching out slowly Kushina flipped it over.

綱

"Oh that's easy." She sighed with a grin because here she thought there would be a _challenge_. It meant rope.

"Don't be so hasty Kushina-hime," Jan rebuked with a disapproving frown. "Look at the other first before making a decision."

She did as she was told and as a result, her mouth fell open.

網

_It. Was. So. __**Similar**_.

Sweating a bit, she peaked at her mother and gasped at the dark look of satisfaction plastered on her usually amicable face. Did she want her to _fail_ or something? Nevermind scratch that, she probably did.

Whipping back around she looked at both cards with a groan. She knew one meant rope and the other net, but they were so alike that she couldn't pick one and be sure. Nervously biting the tip of her tongue, Kushina _loathed_ to admit she was caught between a rock and a _very_ hard place.

"Tick tock Shina-chan, hurry up and make your choice." Her mother smiled, honeyed voice dripping with something devious. "We don't have all day."

Kushina was despairing. Hadn't she suffered _enough_ this past year? Must her own _mother_ torture her so?

Swallowing her trepidation with a pinched expression she lifted one deadened, trembling hand and pointed at the second card. It was now or never.

"R-rope?" She whispered, her free hand clenched over her knee and she _swore_ the whole village could hear her frantic heartbeat.

There was a slight pause before her mother hummed.

"_Incorrect_."

Jan flipped over the cards and revealed the blank underside before she sent a burst of chakra into the paper. With a puff of smoke the answers were revealed, much to Kushina's consternation.

She had her guess right the first time. The _first_ card was rope the _second_ card was net.

"So you haven't won your way off of punishment." Hisagi said with a raised brow. "Perhaps you'll do better next time."

Letting her hair fall around her face, Kushina bowed her head as her shoulders shook with a contained force.

Jan, seeing this, set a soft hand on her shoulder, trying to provide comfort to the seemingly devastated child.

"You don't need to be upset Kushina-hime," The young tutor said softly. "it was a difficult symbol, all blossoming students have trouble with it."

Muffled words drifted from behind the curtain of her hair.

Jan's brow puckered and her head cocked to the left. "Kushina-hime?"

"It's not that." She said, louder this time so that her teacher could hear her without. "That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

The red haired heiress bolted upright with an indignant expression on her round face.

"That I let that a few stupid little brush strokes that I couldn't _remember_ keep me from _winning_!"

Jan, the poor dear, looked confused. "K-Kushina-hime?"

"Look!" She pointed, index fingers placed on the middle of each kanji. Where they both took on new meanings.

"This is what makes rope, _rope_, and this net, _net_!" She explained. "I hesitated when you showed me the other one and doubted my _right_ choice. Now imagine that being the difference between 'bomb' and 'barrier'! I could ruin an entire seal array or _kill_ someone I was trying to protect and that-" She crushed the two cards in her hands. "-is the problem."

Turning to her mother, Kushina bowed formally in respect before rising to her full but unimpressive height. Placing a hand on her cocked hip the young heiress pointed one hand imperiously at her mother.

"Next time I'll get _every_ one of them right!" She declared her mouth set in a grim line. "Just you wait, then you'll _have_ to stop punishing me!"

Her mother looked amused at her vehemence and she flashed her a grin.

"See that you do Shina-kun." Gesturing for Jan to follow her, they swept from the room. "I'll leave you to study my character book then so that you'll have a _fairer_ chance of _winning_."

Oh no, she did _not_ just try to give her a _handicap_. Gritting her teeth Kushina narrowed her eyes.

Oh, it was _on_.

"I'll do you one better! I won't leave this room until I have that whole book memorized and down pat!" Kushina promised stoutly and her tutor's eyes widened at the declaration.

"Kushina-hime!" Jan gasped, surprised that she would go so far. "That book is over three hundred pages long! How could you _possibly_-"

"Are you sure you could handle such a high level book?" Her mother teased interrupting a still shell shocked Jan as she raised a single eyebrow and Kushina stiffened her upper lip.

"I'll do it!"

"Then you'd better get started," Her mother said with a chuckle. "it's very big."

Kushina's frame swelled with confidence.

"I definitely won't quit until I reach the end!" She vowed. "I swear!"

* * *

_Six hours later._

* * *

Kushina oh so _desperately_ wanted to quit, more than anything. But wait, she _couldn't_ because she challenged her mother, a _fuuinjutsu master_, to a kanji learning contest. Yeah, she couldn't believe it herself.

Her and her stupid, impulsive big mouth. It was always running and getting her stuck in situations like this! Clutching the book she stared down at the page with a dark scowl and a reddening face.

"Who even _invented_ this kanji!" Kushina shouted, tugging at her hair in frustration. "What would I even use a kanji like 'discombobulate' for?! I studied _literature_ for Christ's sake, shouldn't this be easier _dattebane_?!"

As soon as the blasted quirk left her lips, Kushina slammed her tiny palms over her mouth and stared wide eyed at the tips of her fingers peeking over the tip of her nose.

"W-what the hell was _that_ datteba-" She rushed to muffle the rest of her sentence before it could escape and Kushina felt an expression of horror blossom on her face.

_Oh Kami, please no! It couldn't be! _

Willing herself to settle down, she took a calming breath before opening her mouth.

"I-it's not really there." She said slowly, her eyes darting around as she laughed hollowly. "I _didn't_ just say that _ridiculous_ _forbidden_ word. Nope of course I didn't _dattebane_."

A silence drifted over the room as her skin paled to a sickly pallor.

Kushina surged to her feet, her head shaking in either denial or refusal, which was it she didn't know. No no no! It was only cute when she _wasn't_ Kushina! It didn't even have a _meaning _as far as she knew!

Clutching her hair again, she tugged and tilted her head towards the ceiling.

"Ugh, really?" She ranted with a growl. "Right _now_ is when you decide to pop up and make my life horrible? Who do you think you are sounding so cute and ugly at the same time dattebane?"

Her self deprecating rant went on for a while until the sound of wooden doors being opened drew her away. Spinning to face the door, the red haired girl glared sullenly at the teen now standing in the room.

"I have brought your dinner Kushina-hime." Jan smiled, setting the steaming tray of rice, soup, and meats on the table.

Kushina's eyes narrowed in calculation, disregarding the dinner for a moment as an idea occurred to her.

She was pretty sure her mother never said she had to learn the book by herself and so she _wouldn't_.

Falling forward into a dogeza in full flourish - with her forehead on the floor and everything - she pleaded her case.

"Jan-sensei will you _please_ help me with that accursed book?" Kushina begged making sure to inject equal parts self-pity and reverence. "It's too much for me to handle by myself!"

There was a fond sigh which prompted Kushina into sitting up.

"If you knew you would just need help then why would you take it upon yourself to do this?" Jan questioned, looking at Kushina from behind her glasses.

"I'm the clan heiress I need to be able to tell the differences between kanji. I can't use fuuinjutsu to protect my family if I don't know the characters and so I had to take the chance." Leveling a hard stare on Jan, Kushina asked one more time. "So will you help me?"

Sighing, her fellow Uzumaki reached over and picked up the book.

"You might as well eat and get comfortable, we'll be here for a while."

"Hai Jan-sensei!"

* * *

**Michiko and Jan are going to be quite frequent in this story so I hope you guys can grow to like them.**

**Out of curiosity how do you guys think Minato and this Kushina will get along?**

**Edit: 3/20/16**


	4. Half Way

Kushina beamed brightly, looking as pleased with herself as she possibly could. A slick grin stretched itself across her round face as she shared a side glance with Jan.

Set down in front of her were over three hundred cards, all splayed out side by side. Turning a slightly smug grin towards her mother's shocked face, she couldn't resist one more jab because really, her mother had it coming.

"_So_, all correct this time?" And Kushina knew they were. Hell they _better_ be after spending _three whole stinking months_ camping out in that room, she would have exploded if it was anything less.

It seemed her perfectionist nature was finally paying off.

Shaking off her flabbergasted expression, her mother chuckled lowly and ran a slim fingered hand through her daughter's hair.

"Of course you got them all right, you had two plus advantages." Hisagi said with a grin. "You _are_ my daughter and not to mention an Uzumaki through and through."

Kushina's chest puffed up in pride at her mother's words. Damn _straight_, she was twice the awesome.

Sparing her mother a glance, the young heiress brushed her hair behind her ear and gave a small smile.

"So...am I off the hook?" Kushina questioned with a hopeful expression on her face as her brow gave a quirk. Her mother had promised, after all.

Said woman sighed in defeat but there was an undeniably _proud_ tinge to her voice when she spoke next.

"Well I can't exactly go back on my word now can I?" She questioned with a faux weary sigh. "I guess you're a free woman now."

The effect of those words was immediate and _loud_ as demonstrated by the way she erupted up from the floor.

"_Yeah dattebane, I told you I could do it!_" She shouted flying up from her seat before she stopped and cringed at her slip up. Glancing at her mother across from her she pray that she hadn't noticed it, but by the amused sparkle of her mother's smile that was a pipe dream.

"I see you developed your father's speech quirk." She grinned reaching forward to pinch at her rounded cheek in that slightly painful way that was used against small children.

"N-no I didn't!" Kushina laughed nervously, squirming away from the touch, her eyes shifting to the side. Until she was dead, she'd deny deny deny. "Kaa-san you're _obviously_ hearing things because I definitely didn't hear a quirk, dattebane!"

A second of silence drifted around the room and the future jinchuuriki sighed.

"Ignore that please."

Her mother let out a tinkling laugh in response.

"It's nothing to be _ashamed_ of, in fact yours is just one syllable away from Mizo's." She explained kindly and Kushina was now curious.

She had never heard her father say anything close to her patented 'dattebane'.

"How does he say it?" She asked with a conspiratorial like whisper as if her father would jump out of the shadows and forbid her from ever knowing.

Hisagi tapped her chin in thought. "I believe it went something like 'dattebe', but I can't be sure unless I hear it again."

Kushina grinned wickedly.

"Aw that is too cute." She cooed with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "It's _way_ better then mine."

"Eh, it's a matter of opinion." Hisagi said rising out of her chair. "Okay so now that you're off punishment, I trust you want your lessons to begin again?"

Kushina nodded. Of course she did.

"Then meet me tomorrow outside in the training yard."

"Hai okaa-san!"

Turning back to Jan as soon as her mother left the room, she gave the red headed woman a tight bone breaking hug.

"_Thank you, thank you, thank you!_" She sang as Jan shakily patted her back. Pulling away, she flashed adoring eyes at her tutor.

"I definitely would have failed without your help 'ttebane!" Kushina grinned. "You and your awesome fuuinjutsu skills _really_ saved my neck. I don't think I would have lasted any longer."

Jan smiled sweetly down at the younger red head.

"Oh, I'm sure a stubborn girl like yourself definitely could have pulled it off even if you had to live out the rest of your life in that room." She remarked dryly, pulling them both up to a stand.

"Now, why don't we go get you a shower, some home cooked food, and some _freedom_ huh?" Jan suggested. "I can only imagine how much you crave all three."

"Not exactly in that order right?"

"No, not necessarily."

"Great, cause I want some freedom first."

* * *

When Kushina awoke the next morning, it had been to the sight of her mother poised above her resting body.

And so like any other sane person who arose from the harsh clutches of sleep to see dark figure looming overhead, she _flipped_ out.

Issuing a sharp yelp, she kicked upwards and froze when slim fingers curled around her ankle. Now dangling upside down in the air facing away from her mother, she arched her back and let her hands grab hold on mother's forearm. Completing her upside down bridge, she stared groggily at her Cheshire cat grinning mom.

"I see you haven't lost your flexibility while you were idle so you must have been practicing in that room." Hisagi commented with approval. "Good, so we won't have to focus on rehabilitating you."

Still shrouded by the cover of sleep Kushina was a bit too slow on the uptake.

"Kaa-san...W-what are you doing in my room?" She questioned groggily. "H-how long were you standing there?"

Brushing aside her bleary questions, her mother dropped her back down on the mattress with a small bounce.

"Go get ready," Her mother instructed pointing to the pile of training clothes right next to her face then to the bathroom. And for the first time, she noticed the ninja pants and mesh shirt her mother wore. "We have a lot to do today so chop chop and hop to it."

Grumbling under her breath, she picked up the clothes and trudged to the bathroom, all the while her venomous tired gaze clashing with her mother's amused one.

"Hey, hey! Don't you laser glare at me. _You_ were the one who wanted to learn." The lady of the clan grinned.

"So no more pouting or I'll run you straight into the ground…Well, more than I was already, so I guess a better threat would me saying that I'll run you into the core of the earth." She said before she erupted into gleeful cackles at the prospect and Kushina shivered.

Shooting one last narrow eyed look at her mother, she slammed the door behind her. But little did she know her angry mutterings could still be heard through the door over the sound of the rushing water.

"...pouting she says..."

Back in the main room Hisagi's grin turned razor sharp.

"Into the core of the earth it is then."

* * *

**Edited: 3/21/16**

**What do you think of Kushina's mom? Also some people think the story is going too slow but its literally on the fourth chapter. Chill. All of my stories rely on character progression, it's not anything new.**


	5. Duality

**This stuff** \- Canon!Kushina

_This stuff_ \- SI-OC!Kushina

**Disclaimer: Did I have one of these yet? No? Well here it is. I don't own.**

* * *

Kushina was tense.

It felt like someone had pulled every muscle in her taut and hit them repeatedly with a metal bat. Exhaling with effort, she struggled to stay still and complete her training quota for today.

"And I want you to keep this position for as long as you possibly can." Her mother instructed as Kushina held her horse stance on the fragile looking wooden plank balanced on a thin but tall breezeblock.

Tied to her wrists and balancing on her palms were, believe it or not, two bowls of boiling hot ramen. And yes, she knew how freaking cliche it was for an Uzumaki to do something like this involving ramen. Well she would dare _anyone_ to try laughing about it while the skin burning broth was balanced in _their_ teetering hands!

She could tell anyone from _experience_, it burned like acid when it splashed on delicate pale skin. Not to mention she couldn't find anything funny about spilling the soup because her mother did not appreciate the waste of food.

_Like at all._

And on top the viable torture she was being subjected to under the pretense of _training_, she had been standing here for two hours.

_Two. Hours!_

It was final. Her mother was heartless.

"You're fast, agile, and possess a strength monstrous for a child that's even above standard for an Uzumaki." Her mother explained as she wobbled nervously in her position. "But what good is all that if you cannot balance long enough to complete an attack?"

"No good at all." She pushed out, knowing her mother wanted an answer despite the difficulty of her current situation.

"Exactly! And since I noticed how jittery and impulsive you are I decided to help you out! So tada!~" Her mother sang, arms stretched out like she was presenting a game show prize. "Here's my idea to fix it!"

"And what a _great_ idea it is." Kushina muttered, hissing as the liquid from the bowl sloshed onto her forearm.

"It is, isn't it?" Hisagi grinned, completely ignoring her sarcasm. Or maybe she just being oblivious, either way it left Kushina feeling more pissed than she was previously.

"Well, I'll be back in an hour so keep up the good work!" Her mother called before she disappeared in a whirl of leaves and red, leaving her daughter alone to get scalded.

Standing there on her perch, Kushina could feel her muscles scream at her due to the stress of her previous exercises and she wanted nothing more than to scream back.

_Ugh_. Couldn't her mother have found something _else_ besides ramen to place in her hands? Kushina didn't want to be sporting third degree burns because of this.

Sighing, she kept up her required position because what else could she really do? Kushina didn't know how long she remained still but she _did_ recognize the moment trouble came to interrupt her.

And all it took, was a gentle gust of wind.

Kushina didn't exactly see _what_ the wind blew at her nor did she feel it, but when that foreboding tightening of her chest and the twitching of her nose started, she _knew_.

_She knew she had to sneeze._

_And sneeze she did._

The sharp exhalation of hair from her chest burned through her nasal passages and made her eyes water until tears dribbled down her cheeks.

Now maybe she would have been okay if she had gone along with the sneeze instead of holding it back but she hadn't and so she wasn't okay. Kushina's entire frame jerked at the contained force and the ramen in her grasp slipped.

Panic gripped her at the prospect of getting burnt by food and being the impulsive idiot she was, Kushina tried to stick her feet to the boards and the bowls to her palms.

Big mistake.

In a split second the wood beneath her feet splintered and the bowls cracked, both from the pressure of her chakra.

With a crash everything landed and Kushina lay huddled on the ground cradling her bloodied hands and feet.

A faint pop sounded and the young redhead stared wide eyed up at her mother, who, in turn, stared wide eyed at her in disappointment and worry.

"I have some good news." Kushina started with a nervous titter, attempting to alleviate the tense mood. "I didn't exactly _drop_ anything."

With a bop to her head, Hisagi bent down to tend to her wounds, soundlessly picking out the wood and ceramic shards with precise plucks of tweezers from a first aid kit she had shunsin'd to get. Kushina, not one liking to see herself bleed, turned away.

Cuts free of any foreign objects, Hisagi then cleaned them out ignoring any flinches from her daughter. Placing one glowing hand over the soles of her feet and palms of her hands, her mother sealed up the puncture wounds.

"Where did you learn that?" Kushina asked curiously. This was the first time she had seen her mother use something like this. When she had gotten scalded, she had been taken to medical.

Hisagi's eyes flashed to meet hers. "I wouldn't be worth my salt if I did know basic aid."

Wrapping bandages around her appendages, her mother stood, concerned gaze warping to a much sterner one.

"If you can't do something or you think you'll mess up, don't just forge on blindly. Ask for help." Her mother rebuked, scowling gently. "If you would have called I would have answered. I'm here for a reason."

Kushina bowed her head shame faced.

"Sorry kaa-chan." She muttered, shuffling slightly.

"Not yet you aren't!" The red headed woman said cheerfully and in a displacement of air, Kushina found herself standing before a large tree. Staring up at the giant plant, she blinked uncomprehendingly. "You are now healed and you wasted two bowls of our finest ramen."

"But that wasn't-"

"Climb this tree before sundown, which in case you didn't know, is three hours away, or I'll terminate your training until I deem you ready." And with a poof she was alone. Again. With another impossible task.

"Goddamnit!"

Glaring at the tree, Kushina tried to recall all she knew about tree walking.

She knew she had to focus a fixed amount of chakra to the bottom of her feet, and use that to climb the tree without using her hands. If the stream of chakra was too weak, she'd end up losing her footing on the tree and fall off. If it was too strong, she'd send herself flying backwards away from it.

Nodding, she gave a determined grin and ran at the tree, already gathering chakra.

Running up the bark, it wasn't long before she was launched through the air.

"Dang!" She shouted as she fell back into a flip, landing heavily on the balls of her feet. Looking at the crater like hole that graced the front of the tree, she let her head drop.

"Same thing as Naruto." She grumbled. "Of _course_."

But still she tried. Again and again with no improvement. Trying to thin down the amount of chakra she was sending didn't help, as the many indents in the tree told her.

This was making her frustrated and a frustrated Kushina was a desperate one.

"Why can't this just be easy!" She hissed, racing back up the tree, this time making it ten steps before she was forcibly ejected.

Stifling the urge to scream, she took a deep breathe and thought back to how Naruto solved his problem.

"He asked Sakura for help," Kushina remembered, and now the only thing left to do was recall what was discussed.

Thinking back to the wave arc, she closed her eyes.

She said it was about concentration, feeling and drawing her chakra to the correct places.

Making the standard jutsu hand position she focused inward.

Picturing her core, she used her mental hands to draw her chakra away and at first it was going good. It seemed to flow with her and bend to her command, but as she drew it farther away, it seemed to stretch taunt before it snapped back to her chakra center and out of her grip.

Eyes snapping open in surprise, Kushina stared down at her stomach in confusion.

"What even?"

Trying again, but this time a little harder, it happened again but this time faster. Stomping her foot - she didn't care how immature it was, it made her seem, it helped her temper - she tried and tried and _tried_. And by the time she gave up, she was sure her face was red with anger if the burning was any indication.

Everytime she tried to grasp a tendril, a torrent came rushing towards her and everytime she tried to grasp a torrent, only a fizzle would pop.

Kushina stared at her hands in disbelief. Her previously good control was shot because she hadn't practiced with it during her punishment.

At that time her chakra had to take a back seat in her priorities and now she was paying the price.

"This isn't even fair." She hissed, eyes stinging. She dropped down to the ground with her arms crossed.

_She was done_. How could she continue this? Her mother was _crazy_, her chakra control was _awful_ now, and she was going to _fail_! It was final. She was going to lose a teacher.

Scowling now Kushina narrowed her eyes. If her mother wouldn't help her, she'd go to her dad or Jan, she didn't need to do this shit anyways.

A single tsking sound was heard in response to her thoughts and Kushina blinked in surprise at the noise.

**Geez! Giving up so easy?** A voice - _her own voice_ scoffed at her. **I thought we were better than that 'ttabane!**

The internal thought, so similar yet very different from her own, made her pause.

"W-what?" She stuttered, shoulders hunching defensively as her eyes flickered back and forth. Great, now _she_ was going crazy!

**You heard me baka! Stop whining and get to it already!** The voice urged. **We're Uzumaki, known for their resilience, act like it 'ttabane!**

A beat of silence passed before the voice spoke up again.

**And we're not crazy!**

Glancing up at her towering opponent, she yanked at her hair, seething at the voice for thinking this was a walk in the park before she stopped to realize what exactly she was doing.

_Kami_, she was mad at the _subconscious voice_ in her _head_, the stress must really be getting to her.

And now she was going to talk to it, yes the stress was kicking her ass.

_Look, _She huffed._ it's not that easy-_

**Not that easy our ass! **The other voice barked and Kushina jumped at the intensity. **Get it in gear and **_**try**_**! Don't just sit there with that pitiful freaking look on our face! Get. **_**Up**_**!**

Trying not feel like she had gotten scolded, Kushina felt the negative emotion drain out of her and the feeling of determination filtering in. She clenched her fist and gave a half reluctant grumble.

"I guess I have been acting like a baby, huh?" Kushina asked, feeling half ashamed. If her old school buddies could see her now. "If I could memorize those seals then I _guess_ can do this."

She got the impression of a grin.

**Ganbatte! That's more like it!**

Abruptly her face faulted.

"It's too bad Jan isn't here, I could have used her hel-" Something clicked and she recalled her mother's words.

"I'm gonna have to swallow my pride aren't I?" She muttered as she sighed to herself. "Yep, that's _exactly_ what I have to do."

Arranging herself into a formal seiza, Kushina faced the main family complex in the distance and called for her mother.

With a swirl of green and red said woman appeared before her with a raised brow.

"Yes?"

Placing her hands in front of her, she bowed her head to the ground.

"Will you please help me with my chakra control?" She pleaded, eyes screwed shut. "I can't climb the tree without it."

For a moment she stayed silent. "Do you accept the punishment that comes with failure?"

Kushina froze and bit her lips. It was now or never.

"Yes."

"Great then!" Her mother chirped, going from grave to pleased in a split second.

Sitting up Kushina's brow furrowed. "What?"

"The first lesson I wanted to teach you was that you can ask for help even when you think or know you can do something." Her mother explained walking forward. "How _else_ would I have gotten that through your thick skull without forcing you to, you stubborn girl?"

Bending down she patted her head. "I think it suffices to say that I'm proud of you Shina-chan."

"Now why don't we get you cleaned up and feed, I know today was just _exhausting_ for you."

* * *

Sliding open her bedroom door, Kushina sighed and made her way over to her beckoning bed.

That dinner had been spent recounting her suffering under the amused gaze of her father while her mother animatedly spun a tale of her every downfall.

All under the bull excuse about teaching her humility. Ha. _Yeah right._

"At least tomorrow she'll help me with my control." She muttered pulling the covers into a cocoon around her. "Let's hope there's no ramen involved this time."

Only when Kushina had finally started to drift off into unconsciousness, did it occur to her what had happened earlier during her training and the realization zapped through her like lightning.

Bolting straight upright, she gasped with her eyes blown wide.

"_Holy shit I have an inner!_"

* * *

**Edit: 3/22/16**

**Beta'd by CompYES.**

**Yes, her inner is the spirit of the actual canon Kushina and yes, I have a reason for her being there. She's essential to the plot of this fic.**

**Question 1: How do you think the meeting with Minato will go with canon!Kushina running commentary on the inside of her head? (For example canon!Kushina develops a crush on Minato while SI!Kushina can't stand how nice he is).**

**Question 2: Do you think canon!Kushina and SI!Kushina act anything alike? Too similar? Too different? What do you guys think of my SI!Kushina's personality?**

**Question 3: What do you guys think I'm planning to do with canon!Kushina being inside of SI!Kushina?**


	6. F Is For Friends Who Do Stuff Together

Kushina sat cross legged underneath a tree as she breathed in and out. She felt each exiting gust of air tumble past her lips and with a sigh she opened her eyes and stared up at the sky.

Leaning back on her hands, she thought about the voice from before. It had been a week since she had last talked to whatever was inside her head and her mind was as silent as ever, leaving her to wonder if she had just imagined it because, really? An _inner_? Who was she, _Sakura Haruno_?

Maybe, she reasoned, just _maybe_ she had been too stressed out due to all the training. Maybe, just maybe, her brain had cracked under the pressure and created a split personality to give her a pep talk and - UGH!

Tugging at her red hair, Kushina scowled. There was _no_ way she had _not_ heard a second voice in her head! She wasn't crazy enough to be hallucinating! At least not _yet_!

If what - or rather who - she thought was trapped in her head, was actually in her head, she was in for a wild ride. Kushina wondered how guilty she would end up feeling when she managed to verify that it was indeed the canon version of herself who was stuck in her thoughts.

So now the only question was, where did it - she? - go?

Did it take energy for canon!Kushina to communicate like that and by doing so, had she used up the bit of it she possessed?

Was she trapped in her mind or something, like the fox was trapped in the seal?

God Kushina hoped not.

Deciding she would get no answer anytime soon, she focused back on the task at hand. Chakra control.

Grimacing at the pile of burnt ashes in her lap, she brushed them off and tried to recall what her mother had told her.

Chakra took time and a great deal of training to gradually build up, so the key was not actually having chakra, but being able to sufficiently control and conserve it. Everyone had chakra - which was evident or they wouldn't be alive - but only skilled shinobi could correctly mold and manipulate it to its fullest extent.

Moulding chakra involved the extraction of energies from both the body's cells and the mind's consciousness, then mixing them together within herself. The amount of each energy will differ based on the type of technique she wished to execute.

Now her problem was that she tended to create too much or too little chakra for any given technique, resulting in the chakra being used inefficiently. So even though she was able to mould the chakra in the correct jutsu position, she couldn't get the amount right. Meaning the desired technique, if executed, would not be as effective or wouldn't work at all.

And when she overshot the amount of chakra in the technique, it wasted energy. And wasting energy also created weaknesses like early exhaustion, which would - if she weren't an Uzumaki - hinder her capacity to fight long-term battles.

There were three primary exercises she could use to practice control. The forehead leaf thing, water walking, and the tree climbing technique. Seeing as how her mother wouldn't let her near water or up a tree until she could rest a leaf on her head without zapping it, the other options were a moot point.

So perseverance was the key to this, that and _patience_.

Placing another leaf on her face, she let out an annoyed sigh.

"This is gonna take forever!" She complained to the empty garden as she wished for some company.

Stupid chakra exercises.

* * *

Falling into step with her katas, Kushina turned to look at the other red headed girl beside her and she frowned at how good Michiko was. She wasn't jealous but she was pretty sure Michiko had just started learning those moves. And Kushina knew that the other girl's parents were taijutsu specialists but still, shouldn't she be better than her?

_Kick upward, hook leg behind into a roundhouse, fall into horse position and ease foot behind the body._

"Why are you here?" Kushina questioned, with a grumble in her voice as she spared the girl another glance.

_Step forward with a punch, heel in the air, send it downwards, shift weight._

"Because this is what friends do." Michiko answered shortly, coming out of her own aerial aerobic like katas. Said girl began to circle an invisible opponent with her hands out in front, fingers splayed wide. "Friends train together."

"_Friends_, of course," The young heiress said rolling her eyes. "How about I ask another question instead, _what_ are you doing?"

Michiko halted and shot her a look. "Senkai buyō."(1)

There was a pause and a moment of disbelief.

"That's a three levels higher than the one I'm doing." Kushina said after a beat of silence. "So why are _you_ doing it?"

_Sweep the ground with a foot, flip away, land in a crouch and move into a handstand._

"What do you mean _why_? It's what leads up to learning the official clan fighting style." She asked perplexed and Kushina rolled her eyes.

Deciding that she couldn't have a proper conversation while flipping all over the place, the future jinchuuriki stopped her katas and turned to face Michiko.

"I _know_ that, I've seen my parents practice it." Kushina said, falling into a cross legged position. "But why are _you_ learning it, isn't it really advanced?"

At her words a blush seemed to spread across Michiko's face and she was _intrigued_. Now she _had_ to know.

"Are you gonna tell me or not 'ttebane?" She inquired raising a brow and the other girl nodded.

"Well," Michiko coughed with a red face. "You're doing a lot of really good things and getting stronger, and I uh..._didn'twanttobeleftbehind_!"

Staring blankly at the girl, Kushina furrowed her brow. Wow, what a _motor mouth. _

"I didn't quite catch that," She hummed leaning forward a bit. "Want to repeat it for me? But this time louder?"

Michiko nodded once again before she took a breath, opened her mouth, and was as she promised, _louder_.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND!" She yelled and Kushina flinched minutely. "You already know fuuinjutsu-"

Kushina snorted. "Hah, I wouldn't go _that_ far."

"And learning chakra control-"

"And look how well _that's_ going."

"And if I don't step it up, you'll find someone _better_ to be friends with!"

For a minute, all Kushina did was stare before she shook her head in exasperation.

"That's the _stupidest_ thing I've ever heard Michiko." She said bluntly ignoring the girl's flinch. "I didn't even want to be _friends_ with _you_, so why in the world would I go be friends with someone else?"

"Um, well-"

"And also," She interrupted. "I think it's unnecessary for you learn something because or for me. Do it for yourself or not at all, I don't like codependency."

Michiko looked crestfallen and Kushina sighed.

"But I'm flattered." She said. "You're a good friend, dattebane."

Now Michiko seemed relieved.

"But I still want to learn and not just because of you." She insisted. "I don't want you to get too bubble headed without anyone to challenge you."

Kushina smirked. "You have a long way to go then, just do you know.'

"Not really." Michiko chirped. "Don't think I've forgotten about what you said earlier. Not good at chakra control, and okay with seals? I'm halfway there already and I didn't even have to _do_ anything."

Kushina glared blue daggers at the gaily laughing girl, wishing her eyes were real knives.

"You know what Smarty McSmartMouth? This will be the last time I do say _anything_ uplifting for you."

"Aw you know I was kidding." Michiko smiled. "Right Shina-chan?"

"Don't be so familiar peasant."

"OI!"

* * *

**1 - The whirling dance. This is one of the fighting styles I'm giving the Uzumaki. It's similar to capoeira.**

**Michiko was less annoying here but I really like her. She's a kid so yes she's gonna act like a kid. I hope you guys don't hold her childishness against her (but it's cool if you do lol).**

**Also if you like Star Wars go check out my Star Wars SI-OC called A Force Users Guide To Dealing With The Darkside (And Also Sith Lords).**

**Oh yeah, and pretty soon I'm gonna publish a Teen Wolf SI-OC who's gonna be Cora's twin sister.**

**Show of hands, who caught the chapter title song reference?**

* * *

**Edited: 4/30/16**


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